


Moments with Yuu

by Seer_of_Soul



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Humor, Hugsaku 2021, M/M, Monster Ignis, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, i can’t not do big story, my canon now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:27:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29662437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seer_of_Soul/pseuds/Seer_of_Soul
Summary: Hugsaku 2021!! Give Yusaku a hug.(I saw people prepping for this last month and beyond. But me? I have... one written as of now, lets see if I can go day by day for this challenge too! XD)Edit: I went day by day. It worked. Each chapter (except the first) was written the day it fits and posted.The first four days are standalone, but everything builds towards the final two chapters.Day 1: Silly | Locked in A Room and You Can’t Leave Until You Hug | Fake Dating |Hugtacles| “We should hug to avoid suspicion.”Day 2: Don’t Touch Me |Cathartic Hugging| “I don’t want your help!”Day 3: Things You Said In A Dream | Wonderland |Sleep Hug| “It’s going to be cold tonight, so I hope it’s alright that we share a bed.“Day 4:Crossover| Skipping Across Dimensions |“I don’t know where you’re from but would you like to stay a while?”Day 5:Surprise Hugs|Awkward Hugs| Dueling But The Final Blow Is A Hug | “I know you’re in there! Wake up!”Day 6:Touch-starved|Lean Into|Seeking Shelter|“I’d like to formally propose that you hug me.”
Relationships: Ai | Ignis/Flame/Fujiki Yuusaku/Homura Takeru/Revolver | Kougami Ryouken/Windy, Ai | Ignis/Flame/Windy, Ai | Ignis/Fujiki Yuusaku, Flame/Homura Takeru, Fujiki Yuusaku/Homura Takeru, Fujiki Yuusaku/Homura Takeru/Revolver | Kougami Ryouken, Fujiki Yuusaku/Revolver | Kougami Ryouken
Comments: 20
Kudos: 32





	1. Yusaku/Ai Hugtacles

Yusaku had stopped being scared of the dark a long time ago. Instead it was stark white spaces and bright light that set his nerves on edge. Those were what his nightmares conjured in the middle of the night. 

Yusaku woke with a start, shooting up in his bed and just barely choking off the scream that tried to rip out of his throat. Even with his eyes opened, it took him a minute to actually register the room around him. 

It was his apartment, quiet and dark.

Yusaku let out a slow breath, then reached up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. 

‘Three things. Think of three things.’ 

His apartment was quiet and dark. Roboppi was in sleep mode in the corner, quiet and dark. The duel disk sitting on the little table next to his bed, quiet and- a purple eye stared back at him. It blinked. 

Yusaku frowned slightly, turning away from Ai. 

The computer on his desk across the room was quiet and dark....

Yusaku looked back at Ai, his frown deepening when he saw that the AI was still looking at him. “What?”

“You were making noise,” Ai said in a strange monotone. 

Yusaku rubbed his eyes, laying back down. Something behind his eyes started aching. He rolled onto his side, facing away from Ai. 

“Humans make noises in their sleep when they’re dreaming, right?” Ai piped up, sounding more like his usual self. “What were you dreaming about?”

Yusaku ignored the question, closing his eyes and pressing the side of his face into his pillow. 

There was silence for a long time, aside from the mechanical noises of Ai’s eye blinking and rotating. He made those on purpose. Yusaku knew that now. He knew that because when Ai wasn’t thinking about it, he forgot to do it. It had apparently been something to make him seem more robotic, more artificial when they’d first met, though Yusaku couldn’t begin to say why. 

He wouldn’t ask though. It wasn’t important. It didn’t mater. 

There was a shifting sound, and for a moment Yusaku thought Ai had closed his eye and gone to sleep. But the looming presence behind him said otherwise.

Yusaku turned his head, cracking his eye open to see if whatever Ai was doing was worth telling him off. 

Soft purple light spread across the darkness of the room. 

The AI has risen out of the duel disk, changing shape until he was a creature with six arms, a single eye on a head with a mouth full of jagged teeth, and a tail connected still to the duel disk. Before Yusaku could ask him what he was doing, Ai pressed forward and laid down on top of him. 

He was... heavier than expected, especially with the way he floated like he was nothing more than a hologram. He felt like a weighted blanket.

He was warm too. 

Yusaku opened his mouth, only to pause when Ai’s arms, all six of them, wrapped around him, holding him tight, warm. They nestled against him, creating a cocoon of sorts. Yusaku couldn’t move his arms any more, not with Ai’s limbs wrapped around him. 

He twisted a little, which Ai let him, loosening his arms for a moment, then closing them again. His orange eye stared down at Yusaku with an unreadable expression. Yusaku looked up at him in mild confusion, his head tilting slightly. 

“What are you doing?”

“Come on Yusaku~!” Ai whined softly. A teasing expression tugged at his eye and mouth as he started nuzzling his face against Yusaku’s shoulder in what was probably his way of begging. “You get this nice warm bed every night, you can at least share with this poor, cold AI, at least for a while.” 

Yusaku was quiet for a moment while Ai made a teary-eyed, pleading expression at him. Yusaku sighed softly. “Fine. But be quiet.” 

“Right right,” Ai muttered, his voice drifting off into something soft. Yusaku closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as a relaxed sleepiness spread through him. 

He faded into sleep and dreams not long after. No nightmare came for him after that, not with the quiet darkness spread over him protectively.


	2. Yusaku/Revolver Cathartic Hugging

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shakes fist at sky* Formatting errors!!!  
> The formatting did something weird when I tried to proof read it on something that actually has spellcheck and made me late! D:<  
> Very rude!

Wind whistled in his ears, roaring as it whipped past him. The endless sky, above and below, the endless horizon in all directions, the Data Storm carried him forward, away from the central hub of Link Vrains. 

It wasn’t real, but it felt stronger than any real wind ever could. The wind of the Data Storm stung his skin, blowing through his bodysuit. It tore at his hair, sending the red and gold fluttering wildly out of shape. 

He needed a breather, from his own thoughts, from his suddenly too quiet apartment, from... everything. It should be over. He should feel fine. He should feel relieved, happy for the first time in a decade. He should, but he didn’t. 

He hadn’t expected the absence of Ai to feel so painfully lacking, like a part of himself had left with him. Ai had gone back home, to the Cybverse, to the other Ignis. But Yusaku often found himself turning to see why Ai was so quiet, why he was grumpily pouting, or else find what trouble Ai had gotten himself into while his back was turned, only for there to be a dark and empty duel disk sitting next to him as a reminder that Ai wasn’t there anymore. 

It kind of... hurt. Every time he was reminded of the absence, it hurt. He really... hadn’t expected that. 

And then, there was Revolver. 

Yusaku didn’t know what he was supposed to think about Revolver. He figured he should probably be upset that Revolver had essentially robbed his reunion from him. For the past decade, Yusaku had been anticipating the reunion with his special person. 

Maybe he would break down a door in the Hanoi’s base and find him locked up there, still trapped after all that time. Instantly, they would recognize each other, some long forgotten memory sparking and come rushing back. Yusaku had secretly hoped that something like that might have caused the return of the rest of his lost childhood memories. He had... secretly hoped, wished, wondered if he and his special person had been close before the incident, that maybe that was why he’d risked so much just to talk to Yusaku, to give him hope. 

Or maybe, his special person had already been saved, and was just trying to live his life, in pain and alone, unaware of just how hard Yusaku was searching for him. Yusaku would have found information on him, from either the Hanoi or SOL, enough to track him down in the real world. He’d find him and... create their own future, make their own lives, on their own terms. 

Or maybe Yusaku's special person would be the one who found him. Maybe he’d be looking for answers too, or for justice, revenge. Maybe he’d be looking for Yusaku. Maybe he’d be the one to find him, in the midst of battling the Hanoi. He’d jump in, fight by his side against overwhelming odds. He’d save him again, in a more physical way. Then, after all the Hanoi were defeated, cleared out for the day, for the moment, maybe he’d clutch Unknown’s- Playmaker’s- Yusaku’s arm and say, “I’ve been looking for you.” Or, “I finally found you.” Or, “There are three reasons I knew you were strong enough to live.” 

But, that hadn’t been the case. None of those had even come close to the reality. His special person hadn’t been captured by the Hanoi, he’d been leading them. He hadn’t been living his life, he’d been trapped in a chokehold that was strangling his life, his future out of him. He hadn’t been looking for Yusaku.... Not for Yusaku. 

His legs tensed in the D-board, pushing it to go faster- faster- faster-! He needed to escape this, these thoughts in his head. He needed out- out- out! 

If Yusaku has been in his own body, not Playmaker’s, he would have tasted blood from how hard he was digging his teeth into his bottom lip. He did feel the spark of pain from it though. But he didn't care. He needed to go- go- go somewhere-! He needed out of this, out of his head, out of the feeling of absence- both of them, threatening to swallow him from both sides. 

He didn't know what to do now. He hadn't thought about what he'd do after... he hadn't thought about what he would do once time started moving again. He felt like he'd been holding his breath so long.... 

"...a...k...r...!"

He didn't know what to do. He... missed Ai. He wished things had ended better with Revolver, that he'd had a chance to.... 

"...ay...ak...r...!" 

The wind was still roaring in his ears, but he thought he caught a faint whisper of something.... 

A voice, from inside the network, somewhere around him. 

Yusaku's eyes snapped open. He wasn't really sure when he'd closed them, maybe squeezed them shut to try to fight the thoughts welling up in his head. He'd bitten a deeper groove into his lip. His jaw felt a little sore. 

"PLAYMAKER!" 

Revolver's voice! From behind him! 

Yusaku snapped his head around just in time for Revolver to plow into him, colliding with his midsection and knocking Yusaku clean off his D-board. 

Suddenly they were falling, spinning end over end in midair. Yusaku clung onto Revolver, his hand fisted in his coat. Revolver's arm was wrapped around his waist, holding onto him as tightly as he could. Yusaku couldn't tell which way was up anymore, up and down both looked like the sky. 

Revolver shouted something that was stolen by the wind. An instant later, a massive dragon appeared below them. Yusaku twisted around, only somewhat slipping away from Revolver's grip. He didn't let go, but he allowed Yusaku enough maneuverability so they both landed on their feet. 

Yusaku let out a breath a moment after they'd landed on the dragon's back, Borreload, of course. He looked back at Revolver, confused and a little irritated that he'd flung them into a free fall without warning. 

Revolver's head was bowed, one gloved hand on his knee and the other still clinging to Yusaku's- Playmaker's waist. Revolver took another moment to catch his breath. Then, his head snapped upwards, his golden eyes glaring sharply into Yusaku's. 

"Are you an IDIOT?!" Revolver snapped, his face twisted into a snarl. 

Yusaku narrowed his eyes at him. He felt like he was the one who should have asked that question. Revolver straightened up, finally letting go of Yusaku- Playmaker. He gestured to the empty sky around them. "This area is full of dangerous viruses- you almost flew right into one! What the hell are you doing out here without any protection?!" 

For the first time in a while, Yusaku surveyed the area he was in. Sometime while he'd been flying, the bottomless sky had changed into ocean, the same color blue as the sky above. Below them, waves rippled across the surface of the water, some generated by Borreload's wingbeats. 

The Data Storm had carried him a long way, out into the empty parts of the network where viruses, hacking caused glitches, and left-over program scraps tended to collect. The programs would collide and mutate, sometimes forming dangerous viruses. He hadn't realized he'd gone that far. He hadn't really been paying attention. 

Yusaku straightened up. He touched his tongue against the bitten area of his lip, feeling the raw place where he'd bitten through the skin layer of data and into the code. "I was thinking." he answered shortly, still a little irritated Revolver had knocked him down. 

Under his feet, Borreload Dragon rumbled disagreeably, mirroring the look that appeared on Revolver's face. "Thinking-?" 

Yusaku's eyebrows furrowed downwards as he turned away from Revolver. "I wasn't paying attention," he admitted, "I just needed to blow off some steam." 

Revolver's voice sounded a little softer, just a bit... vulnerable, when he said, "I thought you were looking for me." 

Yusaku made a questioning noise, turning back to him just in time to see Revolver turn away from him. "We're in the middle of the ocean," Revolver muttered, "This place in the network, it exists above the ocean." 

"An overlay?" 

"SOL likes to save money wherever it can," Revolver responded a little bitterly. "But it's useful. I can still," he gestured towards himself and the dragon, "access the network easily, when it's calm. The overlay works the way radio waves do, bouncing off the surface of the water, generating enough of a signal for easy access, even without the boat's onboard wireless. Which is good because it's been... broken for the past week...." 

"I know what an overlay is," was all Yusaku could think to say. 

"...Right," Revolver responded. 

They stood in awkward silence for a long time, neither of them wanting to take the first step. Yusaku checked his duel disk. The D-board had been completely shredded when it had hit the waves. It would take a little while longer for it to regenerate. 

"...I wouldn't force you," Yusaku muttered, finally breaking the silence. 

"What?" Revolver's head snapped towards him, like he hadn't expected Playmaker to speak. 

"I wouldn't come looking for you. I wouldn't force you...." Yusaku said, barely glancing at Revolver. 

"...Why...?" 

Why what? Why not? Why bring it up? Yusaku stared out at the horizon, feeling the sharp edges of the absence in his chest cut a little deeper. "You left." His voice caught a little in his throat. The pain sparked in his chest, threating to well up into something stronger. Yusaku did his best to ignore it. "You left after our duel.... and I-...."

He should just leave. He wished he could leave. 

"I wouldn't come find you and force you to talk to me, if you weren't ready.... Even if you're never ready, I won't force you to talk about- ...everything." 

Revolver was quiet for a moment. Then, he shifted his weight and said, "I think- I almost wanted you to- chase after me.... I almost wanted you to find me, to confront me about everything I've done." He paused for a moment, thinking, then stared with a slightly more hesitant voice. "I had thought... that maybe you didn't like what you'd already seen of me. So I told myself I wouldn't seek you out again. So I ran away, and would let you chase after me." 

"I was chasing after you, for ten years...," Yusaku mumbled, feeling heat building in his eyes. "I could hardly remember anything before the Lost Incident, but I remembered your voice. You saved my life so many times during those ten years... you gave me a goal, a purpose." 

"Purpose?" 

"I remembered-," Yusaku choked on his words a little. The heat in his eyes building and spreading in trails down his cheeks. "I remembered your voice in that room, but you weren't with the other kids who were rescued." He heard Revolver make a soft sound, but didn't stop. "I thought that they might still have you, that you were still trapped-! I promised myself that I would save you- save the person who'd saved me...!" He brought his hand to his face, dragging his palm across his eye. 

He couldn't believe he was crying. He hadn't cried in years, except from vivid nightmares that shook him for days. And he was crying in front of Revolver, of all people! He probably looked weak, like the same helpless child he'd been so long ago. 

He felt Revolver move closer to his back, felt him hesitate. Then, he stepped closer. Warm arms wrapped around Yusaku's shoulders, pulling him tight to a warm chest. Red hair edged into the side of his vision. The side of Revolver's face pressed against the side of Playmaker's. He wasn't wearing his mask anymore. The cold metal of his earring pressed against Yusaku's cheek. Revolver's arms and shoulders were shaking a little. 

"I'm sorry...," Revolver said softly into Yusaku's ear. His voice wavered, unsteady and almost fragile. "I... I'm sorry." Yusaku couldn't hold back the streams of tears that spilled from his eyes. All the emotions that had been building up for years, maybe even since he was locked in that room, started spilling out of him. Anger, hurt, sadness, despair, grief- all of them spilled from him in waves, washing over him, through him, as Revolver held him even tighter. 

The tears came until they stopped on their own. Yusaku's hands had traveled up to curl around the arms wrapped around him, holding onto him. He felt washed out, but the painful absence had disappeared. 

"I am sorry I'm not the person you hoped for," Revolver muttered. His voice was barely a whisper, fragile and soft.

"You're not," Yusaku agreed. His fingers pressed just a little tighter against Revolver's arm. "But I'm just glad... that you're alive.... That's what I was always scared of." 

"Me too," Revolver whispered. "I... was so scared that you had died... since I lost track of you...." He took a partial step backwards. Yusaku's grip tightened on reflex, not wanting to let go. But he forced his fingers to open a moment later. 

But Revolver didn't move away. He put his hands on Playmaker's- on Yusaku's shoulders and turned him around, so they were standing face to face. 

Yusaku felt something in his chest leap when he saw the expression on Revolver's face, vulnerable and open, reaching for him. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. Yusaku had to wonder just how much he had also perfected holding his emotions in, how much he must be feeling for them to show this much. 

"But I knew...," a faint smile, barely a ghost of Revolver's signature cocky smile, pulled at his lips. "There were three reasons- I knew you were strong enough to survive. And that gave me hope." 

Revolver's fingers tightened on Yusaku's shoulders, pulling him closer. Yusaku raised his hands, putting them on Revolver's arms again. Revolver stared into his face. Even beyond the golden eyes, Yusaku could imagine his crystal blue. Then Revolver pulled him into his arms again, holding tightly. "I knew you were alive.... You had to be...! And that- you gave me hope... that there might be something more, beyond the future in front of me." 

Yusaku moved his arms to wrap around Revolver's torso, feeling something, a different emotion, welling up behind his eyes. He felt a rare smile cross his own lips as he looked out over Revolver's shoulder. "Thank you, Revolver." His special person.... 

Yusaku felt the warmth of Revolver's arms seeping into him, warming and filling in that pit of absence, just a little.


	3. Takeru/Yusaku Sleep Hug

Takeru had long since stopped trusting people. His grandparents were the exception, along with Kiku. Kiku’s friends were all on thin ice, but were allowed, so long as they behaved and didn’t piss him off. He didn’t trust them though. 

Then Flame... happened, and some how he was the exception to every defense mechanism Takeru had created for himself over the past decade. Flame saw his quick temper and frustration and somehow talked him down, without it ever feeling condescending. 

It was a short time, scarily short, before Takeru told Flame his biggest secrets, things that took Kiku years of trust to earn, things he had never told his grandparents. Flame had listened to him, his head tilted to the side. And when Takeru had finished, Flame had put his small hand on Takeru’s wrist. It was so warm, like the heat of a candle. And then Flame has said, “I understand.” And Takeru had believed him, trusted him, whole heartedly. 

Takeru was almost nervous about how quickly he’d trusted Flame, but figured it was a freak occurrence, due to whatever link they shared due to the lost incident. 

Oh, how wrong he’d been. 

Playmaker- no, Yusaku had earned his trust even quicker. Possibly because he hadn’t scared Takeru half to death by playing ghost-stalker for a week prior to their first actual meeting. But at their first meeting, Playmaker chasing down some villain, unfairly out numbered but ready to fight his way out if need be-... Takeru could relate to that. So Soulburner had jumped in and cleared the way for him.

And somehow, Playmaker trusted him enough to leave him to it, to have Soulburner at his back. 

When they’d met at school, Takeru had been prepared for disaster, to have to justify himself, find some reason why he could be useful. But Yusaku had accepted him easily. It was... nice. Flame had laughed at how flustered he‘d gotten afterwards, but he’d patted his wrist and said, “I understand.”

So it was strange when Yusaku sat so casually beside him. Takeru felt nervous about the fact that he didn’t feel nervous. Flame snorted at him and shook his head. “Humans are so illogical,” he muttered.

Takeru couldn’t really disagree.

Surrounded by such amazing people, two brilliant human hackers and two ignis who were also brilliant, Takeru couldn’t help but feel a little useless. He wasn’t really any help with all this coding and hacking business. He’d offered to get them some food, but Kusanagi had insisted he needed to stretch his legs. So he had left the four of them alone in the Cafe Nagi van, running to get them some takeout that wasn’t grilled in grease. 

Takeru sat quietly in the van with the two ignis and Yusaku, feeling useless. Yusaku was dozing, snatching a few moments of sleep before Kusanagi would return and they’d both dive back into their work. Takeru wished he could do something to help. 

Flame tilted his head at him, seeming to sense his mood, as he usually did. “Takeru,” he said softly, “There is something on your mind?”

Takeru shook his head. “No, I just....” He glanced at the dozing Yusaku and Ai, peering up at him from the duel disk sitting next to Flame. “I’m just tired....” The ignis both stared at him with disbelieving expressions. 

“What?!” Takeru hissed, keeping his voice down, aware of Yusaku sleeping beside him. 

“That’s not what you act like when you’re tired, Takeru,” Flame answered plainly. 

“And did you actually expect us to believe that horrible acting?” Ai huffed, putting his hands on his hips. 

Takeru sourly looked away from them, gnawing irritably on his lip. Flame tilted his head, humming softly, waiting for Takeru to speak. He really hated it when he did that. “I just-...,” he started, abruptly cutting himself off when something warm and heavy landed on his shoulder. 

Takeru blinked, turning his head to see a messy mop of blue and pink hair had settled against his shoulder. Yusaku let out a puff of breath, then wrapped his arms around Takeru’s torso, hanging onto him. 

“Well then,” Ai snickered, “Somebody sure is clingy all of a sudden.”

Takeru stared down at Yusaku, unsure of exactly what he was supposed to do. Yusaku was hanging onto him too tightly for Takeru to slip out of his grip. And he didn’t want to wake him up. 

“That does not look like a comfortable sleep position,” Flame muttered, touching his chin.

Takeru had to agree. He reached down to gently tug Yusaku’s arms off of him so he could push him back into his seat. 

“You should feel lucky,” Ai chimed in, making Takeru hesitate. “He doesn’t usually sleep so deep around other people, not even at school. He must trust you.”

Takeru held still for a long moment, then slowly lowered his arms. Trust him? Yusaku trusted him? He stared down at his head, resting on his shoulder. 

A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Well, in that case, he couldn’t just shove him away. Takeru shifted slightly, adjusting Yusaku to a more comfortable position against his shoulder, and draping his arms around him. 

Yusaku’s head moved against him as he stirred. “Warm...,” he murmured sleepily. “You’re warm... Takeru....”

Takeru grinned to himself, partly hiding his face in Yusaku’s hair. Flame would tease him about this endlessly as soon as they got home. He could already sense it coming. 

A yawn built up in Takeru’s throat, making his eyes water a little. Maybe he could get some sleep too. Kusanagi would be back any minute, so he wouldn’t be asleep long. Takeru let his eyes flutter shut, leaning against Yusaku. 

Ai made a discontented rumbling sound. Takeru cracked an eye open to see him sinking into his duel disk. He looked like he was pouting. Flame scoffed at him. “Are you actually jealous?” he muttered.

“No...!” Ai snapped, “Yusaku and I cuddle all the time...!” He was definitely pouting. 

Takeru laughed a little, feeling Yusaku’s hair rustle against his cheek. “You can join in too, you know.” He reached over to the shelf where the duel disks sat, careful not to jostle Yusaku. He worked them into grabbing range with his fingers and dragged both disks into his lap. 

Before Takeru could wrap his arm back around Yusaku, Flame caught his hand, tugging it down to rest between the duel disks. Flame nodded in a self satisfied way, nestling his body against two of Takeru’s fingers. Ai splayed across his palm, still pouting a little. 

“I guess I can share him with you...,” Ai grumbled, “if it makes Yusaku happy....”

“What makes you think I’ll share?” Flame huffed, shooting a glare at Ai, who sputtered and started sputtering chirps and clicks back at him, the ignis language. Flame answered back with tones and notes that sounded very computer-y.

Yusaku’s hand suddenly dropped on top of Takeru’s squishing the two ignis between them. “Shhhh,” Yusaku breathed, not stirring other than that. 

Takeru barely managed to hold back a laugh as Flame and Ai squirmed, then finally settled between their hands, apparently resigned to the ignis-hand sandwich. 

Takeru didn’t know what they‘d been talking about. But he guessed he didn’t really mind. After all... he trusted them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Did I say multiship? ‘>,>)


	4. Flame/Yusaku Crossover/“I don’t know where you’re from, but would you like to stay a while?”

Yusaku stumbled into his apartment, tired and barely able to keep his eyes open. The past several nights at Cafe Nagi had been late ones. And he’d stayed up even later on his own afterwards, writing line upon line of code in his apartment until he couldn’t see what he was typing anymore. 

He knew he couldn’t do the same tonight. He could barely keep his eyes open enough to struggle to bed. As much as he didn’t want to rest, he had to sleep. 

Ai was being strangely quiet, dark in his duel disk, which was inherently suspicious, but Yusaku couldn’t bring himself to care at the moment. 

Yusaku didn’t even bother changing into his sleep clothes, just tossed his jacket over the back of his desk chair and collapsed on top of his blankets. 

Barely a moment after his head hit his pillow, he was already halfway asleep. Then a familiar, but very unexpected voice said, “You’re going to catch a cold, sleeping like that.”

Yusaku shot up, his eyes snapping open. His head whipped around to see a glowing red eye staring up from his duel disk. The red eye blinked once at him, then disappeared. A moment later Flame rose out of Yusaku’s duel disk. 

And- it was Yusaku’s duel disk. He hadn’t grabbed Takeru’s on accident. They had different accent colors. And that... that one was his.

It was way too late for this. 

Yusaku rubbed the space between his eyebrows. “What are you doing...?”

“If it means anything... it was Ai’s idea,” Flame muttered a little sheepishly. “He said it would be better for us to get to know the other partner of our little group.”

“So you switched duel disks....”

“Indeed.” Flame tilted his head. “Though, it seems a bit too late to get to know each other. Perhaps in the morning.”

Yusaku decided that he was definitely too tired for this and would deal with it in the morning. He laid back down and closed his eyes. 

He heard a noise coming from his duel disk. 

Yusaku cracked an eye open. Flame was leaning forward, stretching out of the duel disk towards him. “You’re going to catch a cold sleeping on top of your blankets.” 

Yusaku groaned softly, scooting upwards and sliding his legs under his thin blankets. 

“You’re going to sleep in your school clothes?” 

Yusaku debated shutting him in a drawer. Instead, since he was already more awake than when he’d gotten back to his apartment, he levered himself up, out of bed, and plodded to the other side of the room, pulling his sleep clothes out of his dresser. 

“Turn around,” he said back at Flame out of habit, not particularly caring either way. Ai always made a big show about teasing him.

But Flame made a sputtering noise and whipped around, putting his hands over his eyes for extra measure. Yusaku snorted quietly. As he changed into his sleep clothes, he couldn’t help but wonder if that was a quirk Flame shared with Takeru.

Yusaku padded back to his bed, crawling under the covers. That felt a lot better actually. Flame made a satisfied noise, then tilted his head. “Are you upset with Ai and I?”

“No,” Yusaku muttered into his pillow, “I’ve come to expect things like this from Ai....” 

Flame was quiet for a moment, the said gently, “You missed him while he was gone.” 

Yusaku cracked an eye open, giving Flame a half-hearted glare. The ignis chuckled at him, looking amused. 

“It’s alright. I was surprised at how much I missed him too. Ai has... a relaxed nature about him and while he can be troublesome and even irritating at times, he means well and truly cares for others. It was Ai that taught the rest of us ignis how to care about things and how to have fun, you know.”

Yusaku hummed softly. “It’s too late for this, Flame....”

“Sorry,” he said softly, sinking down into Yusaku’s duel disk. “I will see you in the morning. Good night, Yusaku.”

~

His nightmares had become less frequent in the time that he’d known Ai. They’d faded into rare occurrences. Yusaku would never voice it out loud, but some part of him thought that it might have been Ai’s company, his touch, his warmth, that drove his nightmares away. 

But they still happened. 

That night was a blur of fear and pain, memories of the room, worries about the future, vivid scenes of people he cared about- the people he loved getting hurt, being taken from him. Yusaku felt powerless, helpless in a way he had rarely let himself feel since he was a child. 

He forced himself awake, opening his eyes through the hot sting of tears and gasping for breath. 

Part of his dream was still latched onto his mind, just as real as his dark apartment. He could still feel- Ai. “Ai...,” he croaked, reaching out for his duel disk weakly. “Ai...! Ai...!”

An eye appeared in his duel disk, blinking at him. Then his ignis form rose from it. Yusaku’s fingers curled around him, just touching him, feeling him safe and whole, as the rest of his brain tried to wake up. 

Slowly, he did wake up. And as he did, he noticed that it wasn’t Ai’s shape curled against his hand. Yusaku slowly withdrew his hand, sitting up a little. 

Flame blinked up at him, tilting his head. His hand slowly lowered from where it had been gently pressed against Yusaku’s palm. He didn’t say anything, just looked sympathetic. 

Yusaku looked away from him. “Sorry....” 

“You have nothing to apologize for. I understand. Takeru has nightmares as well.” 

Yusaku grunted and laid back down. He closed his eyes. That scene flashed in front of his eyes again. Ai-...! He couldn’t help the flinch, letting out a shaky breath. 

He squeezed his eyes shut and shoved the thought away. 

“May I help?” Flame asked softly. 

“I don’t need help.”

“... Ai mentioned... that he sometimes offers physical comfort.... I often do the same for Takeru....”

Yusaku cracked an eye open. “Is this you asking for a hug?”

“...Yes.” Flame said softly. “I am... concerned about Takeru.... We haven’t been apart since we reunited.”

Yusaku let out a soft breath. “He’ll be fine. He’s strong.” 

“I know,” Flame said with a soft fondness in his voice. “Takeru is... incredible.” 

Yusaku looked at him for a quiet moment. “Alright.... You can come....” He rolled his face into his pillow. 

A sound came from the duel disk as Flame’s form shifted. A moment later, a familiar weight in a familiar shape draped over Yusaku. Flame let out a soft sigh, relaxing against him. 

Yusaku laid his hand over one of Flame’s tentacle arms. He was warmer than Ai. The end of his tentacle arm was more diamond shaped than Ai’s was. 

Flame chuckled softly, “I don’t know where you’re from but would you like to stay a while?”

Yusaku blinked blearily at him. “What?”

“It’s a quote,” Flame hummed, “from a movie Takeru likes. It seemed fitting.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s about a woman and her childhood friend. The friend has lead a dark and tragic life since they knew each other as children. They reunite and recognize each other decades later. The childhood friend goes to leave, but the woman stops him and says ‘I don’t know where you’re from but would you like to stay a while?’ She’s telling him that while she may not know his past, where he’s from, but she wants to get to know him again. It’s quite romantic.” 

“Hmm.” Yusaku felt his eyelids getting heavier, become so hard to hold open. He felt so warm and safe, which made him sleepy. “That reminds me... of something.... I can’t remember....”

“Maybe you’ve seen that movie before.”

“No... something in... my life...,” he murmured moments before he drifted off. 

That night he dreamed of masks and dragons and golden eyes. And of darkness and comfort and golden eyes. And of fire and safety and warmth. Of gold and grey and blue eyes. 

He didn’t remember that dream when he woke up. But he the nightmare didn’t scare him anymore. 

When he got Ai back, Yusaku locked his duel disk and grounded him. Ai whined and cried, Flame snorted, rolling his eyes, and Takeru laughed. 

Almost. It was... almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Either I’m gonna have to do some heavy lifting in the next couple chapters or I’m gonna have to make a new ship tag. >,>~~


	5. Yusaku/Windy + Ai Surprise + Awkward Hugs

Takeru and Revolver did not get along well, Ai noticed. Sitting in his SOLtis body in front of Cafe Nagi, he noticed that they butted heads whenever they so much as made eye contact. Of course, being an ignis, with superior intellect, processing power, and observation skills, he noticed a lot more than that. 

He noticed the way Takeru’s eyes dilated when he glared at Revolver’s back, or lower. He noticed the way Revolver’s smirks seemed more genuine when he bickered with Takeru, similar to how he would smile at Yusaku when he thought no one was looking. 

One of the benefits of being an AI was being able to literally have eyes in the back of his head. 

When Soulburner and Revolver were ‘working’ in Link Vrains, they bickered even as they chased down dangerous hackers. When they gathered at Cafe Nagi for whatever reason, to socialize or to strategize, they picked the same table to sit at, bordering Yusaku in if Ai hadn’t already claimed one side of him. It was so bad that even Yusaku was starting to notice. His gaze started lingering on them when they stood together. His expression turned thoughtful.

If Yusaku was noticing, there had to be something done about it. 

So, of course Ai recruited Flame to his cause. 

“I’ve known Takeru liked Revolver for a long time now,” Flame said, bouncing the leg he’d crossed over his other one. Flame’s reflective sunglasses were perched on the ridge of his nose, his leather jacket hanging open over a red shirt. A silver flame-shaped charm hung over his chest.

“And you didn’t think to tell me?!”

“I thought it was obvious...,” Flame peered at him over his sunglasses, “with how similarly he acted around Revolver and Yusaku.”

Ai huffed, crossing his arms and pouting. “Still. It’s the principle of the thing. You didn’t tell me.”

“Since when do I have to tell you things you can easily observe?”

“I wasn’t paying attention!” Ai cried, leaning forward over the table. “We were busy at the time!”

“Not busy enough to stop you from gossiping about our origins,” Flame replied with a huff. Hypocrite. 

“You were doing it too...!” Ai stuck his tongue out at him, to little visible effect. 

Flame’s gold eyes, a different, more yellow shade than Ai’s, stared blandly at him for a moment, then turned back to where Takeru was making faces at Ryoken’s messy chili dog. 

“So what are we going to do about... it?” Ai asked. 

“About what?” Flame asked, turning back to him, “‘We?’”

“Yes ‘we’!” Ai hissed through his teeth, “And Revolver of course! It’s obvious Takeru likes him! And my Yusaku does too-....” He frowned. It was so obvious to him that Yusaku liked Revolver- or Ryoken rather. He was his special person, of course he liked him. And Yusaku has gotten so close to Takeru too. Their connection had been near instantaneous compared to what Ai and Flame had both expected. 

They’d actually expected more to come of it long before now. 

It felt like the entirety of their group was holding their breath. 

They were in suspension, not quite able to settle into place. 

Ai slumped in his seat, draping his arms across the table. “What are we going to do...?” he whined. 

Flame was quiet for a moment, considering things. “I want Takeru to have every happiness in the world,” he said finally. “I’ve gotten to know Yusaku as well, in our time together. I want the same for him too.”

“What about me...?” Ai cooed, blinking up at Flame with pleading eyes.

“Hmm.” Flame looked away from him. 

“Boo...! Rude...!”

“You don’t mind sharing with Takeru,” Flame said after a moment, looking down at him, almost accusingly. “Why not Revolver as well?”

“Revolver’s different.... He’s not... the same-....” Why did this stupid human language have to be so limiting? He huffed irritably. “He’s not- he’s not anybody’s partner-....” Ai sighed softly. “I don’t know. Maybe... I’m worried he’ll take Yusaku away from me. He nearly did... a few times. If he asked Yusaku to leave with him....”

“He wouldn’t abandon you, Ai.” Flame said seriously, leaning towards him, looking at his face. 

“Part of me knows you’re probably right-...,” Ai muttered, looking away from him. “But still.” 

Flame sighed softly. He started running his fingers through Ai’s hair, making his eyelids flutter shut. “Unfair…,” Ai complained. 

“It’s a legitimate strategy.” Ai could hear the grin in Flame’s voice. Annoying. 

~

Yusaku slipped away from the group, needing a moment of quiet to himself. As much as he liked and appreciated all of them, sometimes they could be a lot.... He ducked around a group of trees, planning to sit down and fiddle with his phone for a while. But it seemed that someone had beat him there. 

The SOLtis was sitting on the ground, dragging his fingers through his green ponytail. Yusaku froze when he saw him, not sure how to react, and very surprised to see him there. 

“Hey... Windy.”

Windy twitched, his hands freezing as his eyes snapped up to stare back at Yusaku. He had a green shawl draped over his shoulders, and green swirl charms dangling from his ears. 

Yusaku hadn’t seen his SOLtis form up close before. He was pretty, green hair that swirled around itself in a twist and violet eyes, a leather brown eyepatch covering his injured one. But there was a feeling of power behind his eyes, like all the ignis had. A number of the others had it too, Revolver, Takeru, even Kusanagi and Aoi. 

Windy scoffed softly, a smirk pulling his mouth crooked. “Come to invite me to the party, Playmaker? Well, no thanks! I have no interest in joining that mess.” He waved his hand dismissively at the gathering behind them. 

“Actually,” Yusaku said, sitting down against the tree next to the one Windy was hiding behind, “I was escaping ‘that mess’.”

Windy blinked at him curiously, his head tilting to the side. “But- they’re your friends.”

“They’re noisy,” he sighed, “I just need quiet sometimes. It’s not so bad when it’s just some of them. But all of them together....”

“It’s okay,” Windy grinned at him, his eyes narrowing. “You can say ‘Soulburner and Revolver’.”

Yusaku huffed softly, a rare smile pulling at his lips as he dipped his head. “Yeah. It is.”

“I can hear them from over here,” Windy complained, peeking around the tree trunk he was leaning against to glare at them. “So loud.”

“They’re just like that when they’re together.” Yusaku shrugged slightly. “They bring out... the life in each other.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Windy look back at him, one eyebrow raised. “They’re good rivals for each other.”

Windy’s face scrunched up. “I think you’re overestimating them. They’re fighting about hot dog beans.”

Yusaku felt his lips twitch upwards again. “They are....”

Windy stared at him for a moment, then shot a look back at Takeru and Ryoken. “They’re so dumb. Humans are so dumb.” 

Yusaku shrugged. 

Windy eyed him skeptically, then dropped his cheek into his hand with a huff. “Humans are really dumb.”

Yusaku looked at him from under his hair. After a moment he asked, “Where is your origin?”

Windy visibly flinched, looking away from him. “We… haven’t talked.... Not since- you know.” 

Yusaku felt a twinge of regret in his chest. “Sorry. You don’t have to-.”

Windy waved his hand briefly, then dropped it and let it hand limp. “It’s fine. I need to own up to my own actions and decisions. I just... haven’t gotten around to talking to him yet.” He was quiet for a moment. “Revolver’s planning to go talk to him soon, try to... explain things.”

Yusaku’s head tilted a little. “How do you know that?” 

Windy pushed his two pointer fingers together, his lips pushing into a pout. It was an expression so much like one Ai would wear, Yusaku was caught off guard. “I may have... been doing some surveillance on... some knight or other.”

“Right.” Yusaku didn’t know if he should have been surprised, but he really wasn’t. He thought... Windy was doing what he could to protect his origin, even from afar. That was kind of… nice. 

Windy stared up at him, half offended. “Really? That’s it? I was expecting a lecture.”

Yusaku shrugged, leaning back against his tree. “Not from me. I’m a hacker too.”

“If that’s what you want to call ‘hacking’.” Windy snickered behind his hand. Yusaku side-eyed him. Windy blinked innocently at him, smiling. They elapsed into a comfortable silence, sitting in the shade. 

“Hey...,” Windy suddenly asked, his voice soft. “Did you ever hear Ai or Flame... say something? About me? When- you know, before....”

Yusaku looked over at him, seeing his eyebrows pinched together. “They were excited to find you that first time. And they both talked a lot about your flying and control over the Data Storms.”

“Really...?” Windy sighed, staring up at the sky. 

“You should talk to them.”

Windy snorted. “Yeah. Right. As if they’re going to want to hear from me- after everything....”

“I think they’re worried about you.” Windy’s head snapped towards him, a surprised look flashing across his face. 

“Really?”

Yusaku nodded. Windy shifted, looking away and tugging at the edges of his shawl. “I....” He shook his head slightly, peeking around the tree to the table where Ai and Flame were sitting. “They’re busy with each other.”

“They don’t seem to mind when Takeru and I join them,” Yusaku shrugged. 

Windy eyed him suspiciously. “You really have no idea...,” he said, almost at a loss. Yusaku tilted his head curiously. Windy shook his head, standing up. “Humans are so stupid.” He stepped around Yusaku’s legs. “But...,” he looked down at Yusaku, chewing his lip, “I will... go talk to them.” 

Yusaku nodded shortly, acknowledging it. As Windy scurried off, he stood up, preparing himself to rejoin the ‘mess’. All of a sudden, something heavy and warm collided into his side, almost knocking him over. 

Windy kept him from falling though, as he squeezed his arms around Yusaku, lifting him part way off the ground. “Thanks, Playmaker.” He murmured, almost too quiet to hear. 

Then, as quickly as he’d grabbed him, Windy dropped him and rushed away. Yusaku blinked, watching him scurry up to the table Ai was half laying on top of while Flame petted his hair. 

Then, he turned his head, looking at where Ryoken and Takeru had sat down and were having a heated discussion about something, both of them looking intense. 

Yusaku smiled slightly to himself. He couldn’t help the small worried feeling that grew in his chest. Even if... they had each other, he hoped he wouldn’t be left behind, forgotten again. 

~

Revolver was one of the most annoying people Takeru had ever met. He was often right though, which was even more annoying. But Takeru had finally gotten one up on him in the smarts department, a victory he’d hold onto for the rest of his life. 

“Yusaku’s upset,” he’d said. Revolver had looked surprised, then looked around for him. He’d gotten so into spitefully eating his gross chilly covered hot dog just to annoy Takeru, that he hadn’t noticed when Yusaku had drifted away. The others hadn’t noticed either, but that wasn’t important. 

Takeru was sort of cheating, since he hadn’t actually seen Yusaku leave either, and just had the angle to actually see Yusaku’s hair through a gap in the trees. 

“He’s over there,” Takeru gestured towards one of the tree clusters that lined the plaza. Link Vrains was closed for maintenance, so the viewing plaza was fairly deserted, perfect for a little cookout. 

“You think he’s upset...?” Revolver muttered, half sounding like he was going to start arguing it. 

Takeru quickly put a stop to it. That wasn’t going to help right now. “It’s not real obvious, but... I think he doesn’t like it when we argue so much.” 

“I thought it was bantering,” Revolver muttered, taking a sip of his soda, still staring at the tree Yusaku was hidden behind. 

“It doesn’t matter what it is...!” Takeru hissed at him. “Whenever we do it, Yusaku gets quiet and just stares at us. He’s not like that when he and Kusanagi go at it.”

“Maybe seeing it from the outside...,” Revolver proposed thoughtfully. 

“He doesn’t mind it when Kusanagi and Jin do it though. Or Jin and Miyu. Just us.”

Revolver pursed his lips, looking down at his empty paper bowl. “The two of us.... Why are we upsetting him?”

Takeru noticed that Revolver didn’t actually question him about it, just took what he said as fact. 

“Do you think... he thinks we’re holding onto old grudges?”

Takeru blinked. He hadn’t thought about that actually. It’d been so long- they hadn’t actually talked about their last duel after everything had settled. There had been more important things at the time, then afterwards....

“I don’t blame you, you know.”

Revolver side-eyed him suspiciously. 

“I mean it. I... I’m not... fully healed from the Lost Incident, but it doesn’t control me anymore. My past may be... painful and still hurt, but it doesn’t define me. I won’t let it define me anymore.” He looked up at Revolver, a question in his eyes. 

And you?

Revolver looked away from him. “I am... starting to move on. It is a... slow process, my father was such a fundamental part of my life. The things he taught are still so deeply ingrained into me....l” Revolver glanced at Takeru, then back to the tree where Yusaku was. “I’m working on it,” he said shortly, “I want to be better.”

Takeru grinned, feeling it form as more of a smirk. “Not that sounds like a Knight’s creed.”

Ryoken sputtered, shooting him a glare. “What do you know about a knight’s creed?”

Takeru glared right back. “More than you think. I watch movies.” He leaned closer to Ryoken’s face, his eyes narrowing in challenge. 

Revolver rose to meet it. “Movies are an unreliable way to learn things.”

They glared at each other. It was a challenge, a game, to see who’d back down first. It was because of that game that they didn’t even see the hand until it came down, waving between their faces. 

“Alright boys,” Ai huffed, “Enough is enough. Now hug and make up.”

~

Speaking in the ignis language was definitely preferable to any human one. A conversation that would have taken minutes in a human language only took a fraction of the time in ignis. 

In practically no time, they had a scheme. It was brilliant, if Ai would say so himself. And he would. 

Yusaku was attracted to Takeru and Ryoken. Takeru and Ryoken were attracted to each other, though a bit more angry-passionate about it than usual. Ryoken had obviously liked Yusaku for a long time now, long before they had even reunited during the Tower of Hanoi incident. And they’d been trying to get Takeru and Yusaku to admit they liked each other, then get them together not long after they’d met. Keyword: trying. 

It was a perfect scheme, a perfect plan: get those three together and all the pieces would fall into place. 

Ai had been a little surprised that Windy had actually volunteered to work on Revolver. He’d been sure there would have been some bitter feelings there, but apparently Windy and Revolver had been working on something together, something secret he wouldn’t share. But that was fine. All the easier to execute their plan. 

“Your last attempt at something like this didn’t end well,” Flame reminded him with a bitter look. “Yusaku and Takeru both had bad nightmare episodes and bad anxiety for the next several days.”

Ai whined, covering his face with both his hands. “Ohhh...! I know! That was so bad...!”

“It was so bad,” Flame chimed in, “that we didn’t dare try it again until we lost the chance to.” 

Ai frowned, sinking into his seat. “I know....”

“That bad, huh?” Windy winced. 

Flame and Ai both nodded, grimacing.

“Humans are so fragile....”

“Which is why we must be careful with this.” Flame leaned forward, leaning against the table. The other two nodded. 

“And I have just the way to get things started,” Ai smirked, pointing over to where Takeru and Revolver were glaring each other down.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Flame warned him. 

“When have I ever?” Ai scoffed, stepping away from the table.

“Do you want a list? I have a list.” Flame leaned back as he passed by him. Ai ruffled his hair and clicked his tongue to shush him as he passed. 

Ai felt Flame and Windy’s eyes on him as he made his way to two of his targets, his Yusaku lingering next to his hiding trees, eyes on the same targets as Ai’s. 

~

Yusaku watched as Ai marched straight up to Takeru and Ryoken. They didn’t notice him, too caught up in glaring at each other. Ai waved his hand between them, causing both of them to jump and jerk backwards. Luckily neither of them fell over. 

Yusaku figured he should get over there so he could inevitably intervene when Ai started annoying them. So he started over. 

The looks on Ryoken and Takeru’s faces were not comforting. 

When he got within earshot, he understood why. 

“Go on,” Ai said, putting his hands on his hips, “Hug.”

Takeru stared at him like he’d asked him to do a handstand in his underwear. Ryoken looked like Ai had suddenly grown a second head. 

“Uh- why...?” Takeru breathed, looking back and forth between Ryoken and Ai. 

Ai huffed sourly. “Because you two were fighting and when you fight you have to make up. So hug.”

While Ai looked satisfied with that answer, Takeru and Ryoken did not. Ai sighed, his head rolling in exasperation. Then, too quick to dodge, his hands lashed out and grabbed their arms, dragging the two of them to their feet. Ai pushed them together, smushed them against each other, and wrapped his arms around the two of them so they couldn’t separate. Ryoken and Takeru stared at each other awkwardly, leaning as far away from each other as possible. 

Then Takeru’s panicked eyes found Yusaku over Ai’s shoulder. He mouthed ‘help’, looking at Yusaku pleadingly. 

Before Yusaku could even open his mouth to say anything, Ai whirled around and grabbed him too, sweeping him up into his arms, and Takeru’s back. The SOLtis was much stronger than it looked, thanks to Ai’s own modifications. So he was easily able to lift all three of them off their feet. 

“There!” Ai chirped. “Aren’t we all happy friends again? No more bad, fight-y feelings!” Yusaku got the distinct feeling that Ai was up to something, especially with the way he was smiling innocently up at him. Yusaku sighed, thinking that he should have stayed in the trees. 

“Idiot,” he heard Flame mutter. 

“Hey! I heard that!” Ai cried, his face flushing red as his head snapped around. 

“You were meant to!” Windy shouted back at him. Ai pouted in their direction. 

Takeru wrinkled his nose at Ryoken, leaning away from him. “You smell like beans.”

Ryoken scowled back at him. “It’s chili.” 

Yusaku sighed softly, closing his eyes and letting his head fall against Ai’s shoulder. At least he didn’t feel worried anymore. Ai always put him at ease, no matter the stress or nightmare. 

As he relaxed into the embrace, despite Takeru’s squirming, Yusaku felt a small smile tug at his lips. This... felt better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heavy lifting? Check.


	6. Yusaku/All All Prompts

Somehow they’d gotten stuck in Ryoken’s house. They weren’t trapped, technically. They could still leave, but the buses had stopped running and it was a long walk back into the city. 

They’d lost track of time. Takeru, Flame, and Windy had been taking turns dueling while Yusaku and Ryoken had been writing code and analyzing data from their duels. Ai had been spectating and commentating with whoever wasn’t dueling at the time. 

The six of them had been working on a project together, messing with the duel system for Link Vrains players, working to make it feel more real while improving safety for the duelists and bystanders. Ai had been banned from trying to help after he made a code that had the monsters do a victory dance after they destroyed another monster. Takeru and Windy had laughed at least. 

When they realized they’d missed the last bus, Ai had whined a little about him and Yusaku having to walk back to their apartment in the dark. “It’s just so dark in our neighborhood, and it’s not like when Kusanagi drops us off, we’d have to walk there in the dark, through dark alleyways....” He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. “It just feels so unsafe...!”

Ryoken had rather quickly offered to let them all stay the night. 

“You know you just got played right?” Yusaku muttered to him as the others scurried off. Windy was pilfering some of Ryoken’s spare night clothes and Ai was dragging Takeru towards the bathroom so he could change. 

A smirk tugged at the corner of Ryoken’s lips. “Hoh? Is that so?” Oh, so he’d known he was getting played and folded anyways. 

Yusaku looked up at him out of the corner of his eye. Ryoken had a small smile on his face as he watched Ai half-wrangling Takeru out the door. 

Yusaku glanced towards where Flame was sitting, leaning against the arm of the couch with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. He looked like he was sleeping, but the glowing blue diamond on his neck showed otherwise. Yusaku weighed how much he cared if Flame actually heard, decided he didn’t, then looked back at Ryoken. 

“Are you happy?” he asked. 

Ryoken blinked, staring at Yusaku with a surprised, confused look. “What?”

“With how things have turned out,” Yusaku clarified, watching Windy throw a pale red shirt over Takeru’s head, laughing when he squawked and flailed while Ai finally got him out the doorway. “Are you happy that things turned out this way?” Happy that the ignis were all alive and well, happy they’d all survived, happy... with everything. 

“I am,” Ryoken answered without hesitation. “I never expected it, but I’m happy that I failed my mission.”

“You didn’t fail.” Yusaku looked back at him. “You just chose a different path. It’s not failure to choose a different future.” 

Ryoken stared at him quietly for a moment, then smiled slightly. “Thank you... for making me.”

“I didn’t make you do anything.”

“That’s not true.” Ryoken leaned closer, until his face was close to Yusaku’s. Yusaku blinked, Ryoken’s crystal blue eyes staring back at him. He couldn’t look away. “You forced me into a position where I had to choose, destroy the ignis or lose you. And because of that, only because of that, I made my choice.” 

Yusaku felt his breath catch in his throat and quickly looked away, biting the inside of his lip. For so long, it had felt like there was a distance between them, the heavy weight of Ryoken’s mission and Yusaku’s resistance hanging over their heads. The pressure of it had been keeping them apart, at arms length. But... that was gone now. 

Ryoken had chose him. 

Yusaku didn’t know how to put what he felt into words. He didn’t know if he could. A lump of emotion he couldn’t name welled up in his throat. So he leaned forwards, leaning against Ryoken’s chest, hiding his face in Ryoken’s shoulder. 

Ryoken didn’t move for a moment, then wrapped his arm around Yusaku’s shoulder, holding him in a half-hug. Yusaku closed his eyes, feeling warm, comforted. 

"It's...," Ryoken started hesitantly, "been a long time since I hugged someone. Or was hugged."

"Does the cookout not count?" Yusaku chuckled softly.

"No it does not," Ryoken huffed. Yusaku snickered a little. 

After a long moment of comfortable silence, Yusaku murmured, “I’m happy too.... I’m happy for you.” Ryoken’s other arm rose and wrapped around his shoulders. He propped his chin on the top of Yusaku’s head. 

"For me?" 

Yusaku thought about the way Ryoken smiled wider around Takeru, how he seemed more alive, like he had been chasing Playmaker before. That was what rivals were supposed to do, wasn't it? They were supposed to bring out the fierceness and the competitiveness in each other. Ryoken and Takeru... they were good for each other like that. Yusaku nodded slightly. "Yeah, I'm happy for you."

~

Takeru really needed to stop making friends with pretty people. It was bad for his heart. 

Not that he was 'friends' with Ryoken so much. No, they'd settled their differences, but the man was annoying! So annoying!

He was pretty though. 

Between Yusaku, Revolver, Ai, and then Flame, Takeru was pretty sure he wouldn’t survive very long if he kept hanging around all of them. And then Windy had shown up, and... Takeru was sure his demise by pretty boy overload was iminate. 

Takeru hadn’t told Flame that he thought his SOLtis form was really pretty. But he was pretty sure Flame knew. Flame could read him like a book. And he was definitely not telling anyone else he thought they were pretty either. 

Even so, Takeru was not amused by the pajamas Windy had grabbed for him. Ryoken apparently had several spares, in a couple different colors that were still so Ryoken. Windy had grabbed a pale, washed out red set and started calling him ‘Off-Color-Flame’ while cackling maniacally. Ai apparently thought that was hilarious and had to sit down, clutching his stomach. 

He didn’t even have to do that. Takeru was pretty sure he didn’t actually have to do that in his SOLtis and was just making a show of it. 

Takeru threw his shed t-shirt at the more annoying ignis, nailing Windy in the back of his head, earning a surprised squawk. Takeru darted out of the room before Windy could retaliate. 

Figuring he would be safer from whatever clothing item or pillow Windy chucked at him if he had someone else to hide behind, Takeru darted back towards the room where they’d left the others. He nearly tripped over the long legs of the pajama pants. The pants were too tall for him, but the top and pants both were kinda tight. Takeru planned to sneak back to the stupidly nice bathroom and steal his underwear back from both the ignis. 

They’d been acting weird lately. Something was up. He and Flame had been hanging around Yusaku and Ai like normal, though a bit more than they used to, but ever since that cookout, Ryoken and Windy had been popping up more and more often. And seemingly for no reason!

The project today, for example, Takeru was pretty sure they hadn’t actually needed his help with programming stuff. So why-?

Takeru paused in the doorway of the room. Flame hadn’t moved, still on his spot on the couch, but Yusaku and Ryoken had moved closer to each other. They were hugging. Just- sitting there and hugging, holding on to each other like they couldn't bare to let go.

Takeru felt like he’d just walked in on an intimate moment. He took a step backwards, hoping to leave before they noticed him and things got awkward. 

“Aren’t you going to join them?” Ai asked softly, suddenly beside him. Takeru jumped, but was very happy he hadn’t screamed. Those SOLtis bodies could be so sneaky when they wanted them to be. Ai tilted his head, looking from Takeru towards Yusaku and Ryoken, who thankfully hadn't noticed them. 

“Don’t think there’s really room...,” Takeru muttered, half joking and taking another step away. 

Ai tilted his head, opening his mouth to say something, but he paused. He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Why do you think that?”

“Come on Ai.... It’s obvious. Yusaku’s been crazy about Revolver since forever. And it’s the same for Revolver.” Takeru smiled up at Ai, a little sad but a little happy. “They make each other happy, so I’m happy for them.”

“UGH- Come on!” Windy groaned, stepping around the corner at the end of the hallway. “Humans are so dumb.”

“Were you eavesdropping?” Takeru started, slightly offended that someone who'd just lost a fight with a t-shirt was calling him dumb. 

Ai sighed, shaking his head. “More dense, honestly.”

“Hey...!” Takeru protested. Ai grinned and moved forward, grabbing him by the shoulders and steering him back into the room. Ryoken and Yusaku looked up and broke their hug. “H-hey...! Ai!” Taekeru squirmed in his grip.

Ai pushed him forward until he was standing in front of Yusaku and Ryoken, then leaned over his shoulder to look down at them. “Consider this an intervention. You’re all too stubborn and self-deprecating to see things clearly, so we have decided to just come out and tell you the logical solution to your problems. You're welcome.”

Flame opened his eyes and sat up, looking at Takeru sympathetically. Why was he giving him that look? Ryoken raised an eyebrow. “And that would be...?” he started. 

Ai huffed, but smirked down at him. “Why, that would be your dirty little secret, dear Revolver.” He said that with such a teasing tone…. Ryoken raised a questioning eyebrow. “The secret that you have quite the soft spot for my dear Yusaku.” Ai smirked as Ryoken’s eyes went wide and his face paled. “Quite the... romantic inclination actually.... And that Takeru does as well.” Takeru felt his expression fall as blood started rushing from his face too. 

“Not to mention, my Yusaku having feelings for the two of you as well. And-,” Ai cooed, snickering a little, “Takeru and dear Revolver have their own brand of flirty eyes.”

Takeru sputtered. “What does that mean?!”

“You stare at his butt,” Ai chirped cheerfully. Ryoken hid his eyes behind his hand.

Takeru’s mouth dropped open, his jaw flapping uselessly for a moment. "I- I do not!"

"Yes you do," Ai smiled down at him. "And of course, we have noticed the budding feelings of romance between the rest of us too.... Yusaku and ‘Ai’,” he snickered at the pun, “Takeru and Flame, and Windy has been getting along wonderfully with our dear Revolver. So-!" Ai chirped, "We have come to the only logical conclusion, that we should all date." 

He said that so matter of factly. 

The room was quiet for a long moment, then the silence was broken when Ryoken gave a dry laugh from behind his hand. “Ah, so that’s what all this was.”

“You knew?” Yusaku asked, sounding only a little miffed. 

“Windy isn’t very good at keeping secrets.” Ryoken smirked dryly as he looked up at Windy from behind his hand. 

Flame and Ai both groaned, “Windy...!”

“What?!” Windy sputtered, flushing and throwing his hands up in the air. “You two had it easy! I had to drag Mr. Antisocial-Unless-Someone-Else’s-Life-Depends-On-It out of his house!”

"Wait- what?" Takeru sputtered, looking between all of them. He was so lost....

"They've been trying to plan this 'thing' secretly," Yusaku muttered, twisting a lock of his hair around his finger. "Ai's bad at lying on the spot too."

Ai sputtered in protest as Flame sighed, shaking his head. "Of course...."

"Flame...?" Takeru started. Flame looked up at him sheepishly. 

"I am sorry this is... uncomfortable, Takeru. We were trying to ease everyone into the idea, but that hasn't been working...." He smiled softly at Takeru, the kind of smile that was so gentle and so warm, the kind of smile that comforted him after his nightmares. "I want you to be as happy as you can be, and this seems to be the way to that. You care for me, Yusaku, Ai, and Ryoken very deeply. I think it would upset you, it would upset all of us, if we had to pick just one person. We are a team, right?"

"Right," Takeru breathed reflexively. He blinked a few times, still trying to process all of this. Apparently Yusaku and Ryoken had known this was coming, at least partly. He looked at them, to see how well they were processing this.

Ryoken was looking at Yusaku with his eyebrows raised. Yusaku was looking back at him. Yusaku stared at Ryoken for a long moment, then looked up at Ai and Takeru. Takeru could feel the hopeful expression Ai was giving him. If his SOLtis form had a tail it would have been wagging. Yusaku focused in on Takeru. "What do you think?"

All the blood that had left Takeru's face suddenly rushed back up, making him flush. What did he think? "I- I mean...." What did he think?! Ai was right, he did have feelings for all of them. Despite what he said, what he’d told himself, losing any of them would have hurt. And if Flame thought it was best…. A grin slowly pulled at his lips. "I'm down to try it."

Yusaku smiled up at him, dipping his head slightly. Ai's fingers tightened against Takeru's shoulders.

Windy bounced forward, peering around Ai's arm. "Yes? That's a yes? What about you Revvy?" 

"...If I wasn't at least somewhat interested, I would have kicked you out a long time ago," Ryoken huffed. "And stop calling me 'Revvy'."

"You gotta use your words, Revvy! You too, Playmaker." 

Ryoken sighed, looking a little exasperated. "Fine. This idea... I'd like to try it...."

Yusaku smirked at him, but quickly hid it when Ryoken looked at him. "I want to try too."

"YES!" Ai cried, leaping off of Takeru, pumping his fist. "I knew it would work."

"This was my idea," Flame corrected him. "Yours needed several more months and self-orchestrated 'accidental' sleep overs."

Takeru shook his head slightly. Of course. 

"Takeru," a soft voice called. Takeru looked down at Yusaku, who was holding his hand up towards him. "Help me up?" Takeru took Yusaku's hand and pulled him to his feet. He apparently pulled a little too hard because Yusaku collided with his chest and they were suddenly face to face. 

Takeru felt his face heating up as Yusaku blushed lightly. 

"And in honor of our newly founded partnership," Ai chirped, making Takeru and Yusaku step apart and look at him. Ai was smiling sweetly at the two of them and Ryoken, who'd stood up on his own, batting his eyelashes, "I’d like to formally propose that you hug me.”

There was a moment of silence, and his lips twisted into a pout. "What?"

Takeru grinned, "Sure Ai. We'll hug you." Yusaku nodded and stretched his arm out. Ai's eyes watered a little bit as he jumped towards them, wrapping his arms around them. Takeru laughed softly, patting his back. "Were you actually that worried?"

"No... maybe just a little...." Ai muttered. 

Takeru laughed again, looking over Ai's shoulder at Ryoken and Windy, then over his own shoulder, back towards Flame. "Come on, group hug."

Flame chuckled and stepped up behind Takeru, his warm chest pressing against Takeru's back. Ryoken and Windy came in too, Ryoken propping his chin up on Yusaku's cheek. That was nice.

~

Yusaku sat on the edge of the mattress, watching the others move around the room. It was late, later than then any of them had planned to stay up. Yusaku stifled a yawn. Takeru was helping Ai and Windy figure out what to do with their hair, so nobody would accidently pull it. Flame had already put his into a bun and was helping Windy braid his. 

"What about you?” Ryoken said, sitting down beside him. “Are you happy?”

Yusaku looked over at him, then back to where Ai was bemoaning the unfairness of it all. Flame looked like he was considering smacking him upside the head. Windy rolled his eyes, dramatically falling sideways, only to yank his own hair, since Flame still had hold of his braid. Takeru was snickering at them, trying not to laugh. 

Yusaku smiled softly, "Yeah. I think I am." 

Ryoken smiled, "Good."

"Yusaku...!" Ai whined, trotting over to them. "My hair is being dumb. Very dumb."

Yusaku raised an eyebrow at him, motioning for him to bend down. With a few twists and some fiddling, he got Ai's hair into a manageable ponytail. Ai blinked, looking surprised. Yusaku shrugged slightly. "It's just hair."

They all climbed onto the mattress shortly after. Windy crawled towards the middle, only for Flame to drag him to his other side, holding Windy in one arm and Takeru in his other. Takeru curled up against Flame's warmth, but pressed against Ryoken's side at the same time. Ryoken nestled his face against Yusaku's shoulder. Yusaku found himself in between Ai and Ryoken, both of whom were holding onto him like he might disappear. Ai curled against Yusaku's back, his arm wrapped protectively around Yusaku's middle. 

Yusaku felt himself take a deep breath, then slowly let it out. He felt surrounded by warmth, by care. His fingers curled around Ai's wrist, the other hand holding onto Ryoken's sleeve as Ryoken ran his fingers through Yusaku's hair. Yusaku could hear Takeru's breathing, and the different pitches of Flame's 'awake' and Windy's 'asleep' SOLtis's breathing. 

As warmth and quiet darkness spread over him protectively, Yusaku felt the pit of absence inside of him fill in with warmth and trust. He trusted them, which was a little scarry, but comforting at the same time. 

This wasn't... almost anymore. This... felt better.

Yusaku smiled softly into the darkness, leaning into Ryoken's and Ai's touch. He felt warm, protected, safe. He felt sheltered. As Yusaku pressed his face against Ryoken's shoulder, he felt the arms around him tighten protectively. 

Yusaku decided he didn't mind hugs so much... not from all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun with this!! >w<
> 
> I didn’t intend for the polyship endgame from the beginning, it hit me around day three and I just had to try. 
> 
> I’m really happy with how this turned out! Yusaku got some good hugs and so did the others too! A big warm cuddle pile seems like a good place to end it.
> 
> I do wish I had more time to do chapter 5, just cause it was so long and complex. But I think it’s pretty alright! 
> 
> Chapter two is my favorite, with one, three, and four coming close. :0c
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
